It's Not The Color I Expected It To Be, But It's Nice Nonetheless
by theoneandonly44444
Summary: Dr. Strife worked under Professor Hojo's team during the upbringing of Sephiroth. Cloud couldn't stand their treatments of a small child, so he decided to escape with him, but that's much easier said than done apparently... so Cloud starts his life as Subject C And that's how Sephiroth finds him 20 years later.
1. Chapter 1

"Sephiroth? Wake up."

Sephiroth groggily opened up his eyes to a blond head and warm eyes looking down on him. "Come on. Hurry." He felt warm hands gently push him up from his bed, one hand cupping his head. "Hurry up and get dressed. We have to go."

"Dr. Strife? What's going on?" He quickly sat up, a small sense of dread filling him. "I didn't think we had any examinations set up for today…" He got out of bed and put on the standard white shirt and pants put forth by the Doctor.

"There's not anything set up for today. We're just going on a small trip." Dr. Strife was visibly jitty and Sephiroth couldn't help but notice his shaking hands as he helped him put on his shoes. "Would you like to go outside, Sephiroth? Didn't you say you wanted to see the sky?" Although his voice held the usual warmth they always did when he spoke to him his attention was divided between Sephiroth, the camera in the corner of the room and the door on the other side.

Sephiroth had been instructed that he could never leave his room without permission from Professor Hojo, so he'd pretty much given up all aspiration of going outside. Aside from his previous moment of weakness where he had discussed with Dr. Strife how he really wanted to see the sky, and if it truly was as blue as all the books he had read said it was, he didn't think he would ever really get the chance to actually do so. He mostly engaged in such a conversation because he wanted to continue talking to Dr. Strife. Before and after each examination Sephiroth would be lead back and forth to his room where on the way he got to talk to the Doctor and ask as many questions he wanted without being reprimanded for not knowing something or simply- well- asking too many questions. The short time he was allowed to spend with Dr. Strife was definitely his favorite.

"Professor Hojo said I'm not allowed." He said confusedly looking up at the Doctor.

Dr. Strife smiled at him and took hold of his hand. "Yeah, well, Professor Hojo is regrettably away on important business in Midgar right now, so we unfortunately won't get the chance to ask permission." The words was spoken with a bitter hint of satisfaction.

They walked through the door, leaving behind the white room adorned with only a bed and a bookcase filled to the brim with books he'd read more than a hundred times each. Sephiroth felt no need to look back. They walked through white corridor after white corridor pipes and wires draped along the walls making them distinguished from one another, and it wasn't long before Sephiroth didn't recognize the hallway they were walking trough. He mostly kept up with Dr. Strifes fast pace, movements so high-strung he almost made Sephiroth stumble a few times when dragging him. The Doctor gave him a tense apologetic smile when it happened, but rather than slowing down only hurried his steps.

Sephiroth wanted to ask if something was wrong. Dr. Strife had only ever treated him gently and carefully every time they had been together. Never rushing him into anything, even when he deliberately slowed his pace when walking to and from examinations so that he'd be able to spend some more time with the Doctor, he had always had a soft smile on his face while looking at him. Sephiroth had never seen him this uneasy before. It made him nervous.

Dr. Strife froze mid stride when he heard footsteps approaching them. Sephiroth's anxiousness only grew, they were definitely doing something they weren't supposed to do. Dr. Strife turned to him and gently picked him up, placing him on his arm as he backed away into another hallway. Sephiroth had never been handled like that before, the most human contact he ever had is someone accidentally brushing against his skin while preparing him for injections or patting him awake if he'd fallen asleep on the examinations table. So when he felt Dr. Strife lift him up his body automatically locked up. Dr Strife noticed and sent him a small, sad smile. Sephiroth forced himself to relax, he'd rather not see that kind of expression on the others face.

The footsteps passed them and only when they turned the corner down the hall did Dr. Strife continue on his way, lightly jogging now with Sephiroth sitting in his right arm and his left supporting his back. Sephiroth twinned his small arms around the Doctor's shoulders, placing his face in the crook of his neck. Dr. Strife didn't smell like the other doctors or scientists and he definitely didn't smell like processed mako like Professor Hojo did. Sephiroth couldn't quite put his finger on it but Dr. Strife had more of a fresh smell to him. The kind one couldn't get from soap, but rather something that's seeped into his clothes, skin and hair. Sephiroth imagined that's what the outside smelled like, and it rekindled his longing to see the sky.

He felt his stomach churn. "Are we really going outside?" His hopeful tone apparent to the ears. He felt an unfamiliar stinging sensation in the back of his eyes and decided to ask Dr. strife if there was something wrong with them once they had more time.

"We sure are." Dr. Strife was breathing heavily while trying to even out his voice. "Right now we're sitting right in the middle of a big mountain, you can see quite clearly for miles on end." He could hear the smile in the other's voice. "Endless green forests and an infinite blue sky spanning as far as the eyes can see. The world is a big place Sephiroth. I can't wait for you to experience it." Sephiroth couldn't help but smile at that. If this was one of his more bizarre dreams, he hoped he would never wake up.

He let out a small whisper of "Thank you." and closed his eyes, patiently waiting for the time to come.

Dr. Strife tightened his hold on him before he skidded to an abrupt halt, jolting Sephiroth in the process.

"It would seem that I was right to speculate that one could not trust you." The horrifyingly familiar voice said in a mocking tone. Sephiroth wanted to turn around and look, but the Doctor's hand held him tightly making him unable to even turn his head. Dr. Strife's breath staggered as he angled Sephiroth away from the new arrival.

"Professor Hojo, I thought you were in Midgar until further notice?" His breath was shaking, and Sephiroth suspected his arms would be too had it not been for the fact that he was clutching on to him with so much strength.

"You really must take me for a moron if you thought I'd fall for that forged message." Professor Hojo snorted. Loud footsteps emerged from every direction and in a blink of an eye they were surrounded by both people with guns aiming at them and angry looking scientists in white garb. "You truly have a lot to learn if you thought you could pull one over on me, boy"

"He can't continue living like this, Hojo."

"He will continue living however I see fit." Hojo sneered. "Sephiroth, come."

Sephiroth turned his head to look at Dr. Strife, a questioning look in his eyes, but Dr. Strife steadily kept his gaze on the man in front of him.

"Sephiroth, it seems like my teachings haven't fully stuck with you yet. Perhaps punishment is in order."

Sephiroth froze. He had been fully familiarized with Professor Hojo's punishments. And it didn't feel like it should be called 'punishment' as much as it should be called torture.

Dr. Strife's hold on him slackened, and he managed to push himself out of his arms. Sephiroth didn't look back as he walked the short distance to the Professor, but he felt his heart tighten as he let go of the small shrill of hope in his heart.

"Sephiroth." Dr. Strife's voice cracked as he tried to call him back.

Professor Hojo put a hand on his shoulder and started to lead him back through the intricate hallways towards his bland room. "Take him to laboratory 3."

"Sephiroth. It's ok. Everything'll be fine." Sephiroth slowly turned his head, his eyes landing on a blond man on his knees, three men in black held his arms behind his back. Compared to the larger than life man with warm eyes and a kind smile, this one seemed so... small, surrounded by tall people holding him down. "It's gonna work out, ok? You don't need to worry about anything." he said, his voice wavering slightly towards the end.

Sephiroth cast one last look at his warm blue eyes, then turned around and was lead back to his room that seemed to be a little darker than before.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth looked up from his paperwork to the disheveled redhead barging in to his office.

"I need your help!" Genesis slammed the door shut and with a quick few steps stood in front of his desk, looking down at him with knitted eyebrows.

"You remember we talked about knocking before you enter a room?" Sephiroth drolled.

Genesis took the opportunity to slam a piece of paper on his desk."Do you know what this is?" He asked sternly. Sephiroth glanced down then suppressed a sigh. "How about I enlighten you?" It was a question, but Genesis gave him no time to respond. "It's a new Loveless play that's premiering today." Sephiroth felt an oncoming headache. "Why didn't you tell me? It's been in production for three months!"

"Believe it or not, Genesis, I actually have other things to do than survey every theater in Midgar and report back to you every time you're out of town." Sephiroth said as he put down his pen. This was probably going to take longer than he expected.

"I've been back for half a day and this poster literally hit me in my face as I was walking around. They put twenty of them on every bulletin board in Midgar!"

Sephiroth knew about the play when the news about it first flooded the market, and he had dreaded this interaction with Genesis ever since he'd heard of it.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter! That's not why I'm here." Genesis waved his hand as if he could physically shove away the previous subject.

Sephiroth's brow rose. "That's not why you're here?" Calling him surprised would be an understatement.

"Well, I _am_ here because of the new Loveless play, sure." Of course you are. "But I'm here for you specifically-"

"I'm not going. I can't. I have too much work to do so-"

"Calm down I wasn't going to ask you to come. Besides you and Angeal have no love for the finer things like art, I already knew that." Sephiroth suppressed sighed in relief. "I need to ask you a small favor." And Sephiroth definitely didn't like where this was going. "The esteemed Professor Hojo just called me to help him locate an escaped specimen. Obviously I'm busy, I tried telling him that, but he 'insisted'." Genesis air quoted. He himself knew how the Professor could be when he 'insists' on something. "So I need you to take on the mission for me. You know how it goes. It escaped the Professor's lab in sector four a few hours ago, so it couldn't have gone far."

Sephiroth furrowed his brows. "He gave you another mission so soon after your previous?" He picked up the paperstack on the corner of his desk and started rifling through. "I haven't seen a formal requisition from him… "

"Yeah, I didn't even get a written mission briefing. He just told me that I have to detain the specimen if possible, and if not, kill it. I'm pretty sure he's trying to keep the whole thing on the down low, you know how he is." Genesis huffed. "I told him it was grunt work and that I could assign a squad or even a few thirds to do it. Then he lectured me for ten minutes about the importance of his work and yadda, yadda." He explained while rolling his eyes and waving his hand around.

Sephiroth sighed as he resigned himself to a day of grunt work. "How would you even get tickets this late, haven't all the seats been sold out?"

Genesis threw him a slight condescending smirk. "Oh, please. They _will _find me a seat."

With that, and a flourish of his coat, he left the room as fast as he appeared.

Sephiroth considered sending someone else for a few second before deciding against and just to get the whole ordeal over with. He put down his paperwork and headed out the door with Masamune in hand.

Sephiroth came to a halt as he arrived in front of the building in Sector 4. One of Professor Hojo's 100-and-something labs located in Midgar. The entrance was surrounded by a few scientists talking to each other in hushed voices and two Soldier Thirds that'd been stationed as guards. One of the Soldiers, a man with the standard Soldier helmet on, walked over to him and gave him a salute.

"General Sephiroth, sir, we have a small, ongoing situation at the moment, so the facility is unfortunately closed until further notice."

"I'm here on behalf of Genesis."

The man paused for a moment before quickly collecting himself again. "Sorry, sir. Please follow me." The soldier lead him to the group of scientists speaking in hurried whispers. "General Sephiroth, this is Doctor Maya Novitski, head scientist in this laboratory." He said as he gestured to a middle aged woman with black hair pulled into a night ponytail on the back of her head. She regarded Sephiroth with a scrunched up face and a look of confusion.

"I thought Hojo was sending Commander Rhapsodos…?"

"Genesis appears to have prior engagements."

Maya shook her head. They were apparently set on making this harder than it had to be. "No, we cannot let this mission fall on to you, General." The people in white behind her seemed to freeze, looking at each other with furrowed brows and uncertain eyes. "This is merely tedious scut work. I'm sure you have better things to do. I'll send in a formal requisition for someone else." She said with a nod.

Normally Sephiroth would have let the matter go. Let Maya send in the formal requisition, and go back and finish up his paperwork. Maybe take a double lunch, call up Angeal to make fun of Genesis' bizarre taste in entertainment. Even though Sephiroth knew it was out of character for him, but even he liked to kick back now and again. Just relax for an afternoon with nothing to do. He could see the shifty, half panicked look in Maya's eyes. She was definitely hiding something and Sephiroth was inclined to find out exactly what.

"No. I'm already here. This won't take long." Sephiroth said assertively, not leaving room for arguments.

The Doctor let out a weak sigh. "...Ok, let me just get the Professor on the line then-" She said as she took out her PHS from her coat and started typing.

"I suggest you stop wasting both your time and my time, Doctor, and get to it." He narrowed his eyes and gave her his infamous one-hit KO glare. Familiar to anyone prone to wasting his time with trivial questions or unimportant information. Basically it's his go to look if he wants someone to shut up or leave him alone. Or in this case, both.

The Doctor paused for another moment, and Sephiroth almost thought she'd insist on calling Hojo again, before she cleared her throat and stood a bit straighter, regarding him with such a condescending look in her eyes, Sephiroth's sure she'd learned it from Hojo.

"Alright, I suppose it won't hurt. Since you're already here." She hesitated for another second as she glanced behind her to one of the other scientist that was huddled with the crowd, giving her intense looks, as if he trying to convey something. What it is, Sephiroth's not too sure of. But this mission has definitely peaked his interest.

"The subject was seen exiting the facility around 6:45 and has been spotted in the sector four slums half an hour ago."

"How did it get loose? I'm sure Hojo's had safety measure set in the lab…" Sephiroth cocked his head, wanting to get as much information on the matter as possible before he set out.

"...H- It overpowered one of the scientists on duty, and managed to slip out while the others were on break."

"Overpowered…?" Sephiroth glanced at the two soldiers awkwardly shifting in place. He didn't know what to think of that, and by the look on Dr. Maya's face, figured she wouldn't give him more information on it anyway. "What does it look like?"

"It- uh, is probably naked, I don't believe you can miss it."

Well that certainly caught Sephiroth's interest. Was he right to assume this 'subject' was a human? He raised his eyebrows a fraction of an inch, but the Doctor refused to elaborate. She only looked away and cleared her throat.

"Well, if you do find hi- it, you either bring him back here, or, if you see fit… you'll know what to do."

Sephiroth nodded, he'd already heard that part from Genesis, but figured it concerned those monsters Hojo was so fond experimenting on, not… a human. He supposed it didn't matter what kind of species it was, just why they were so adamant on keeping the subject away from Sephiroth. He'll figure it out soon enough.

Sephiroth made his way down the sector 4 slums. He got a few looks, some of fear, some of awe. Sephiroth ignored them all. He was used to this after all.

As he made his way down he made sure to ask bystanders if they'd seen anything peculiar the last hour, most of the replies were negative, but Sephiroth suspected some of them were deliberately withholding information, knowing who Sephiroth is and undoubtedly pitying the person he was looking for. It appears that this mentality ran deep into the residents of the slums. Placing them, as a people, against any outsider. As if they were protecting one of their own. Sephiroth found it as fascinating as he did vexatious.

He was about to give up on his 'friendly' approach of the citizens and try a more direct one instead, when he overheard a curious conversation.

"Mama, that girl was strange, I think she's cold!" A small child looked up at their mother, whom had her hands full with a toddler wiggling around in her grip.

"I know, honey. Mama will go check on her later if she's still there."

"But what if she gets sick?" The child was having trouble keeping up with the mother's long stride while looking up at her occasionally and also keeping his eyes on the road in front of him. "It's really cold at night! Dad said that it's warmer on top of the top plate because they get more sun, but I think-"

Sephiroth stopped listening and made his way down the street the family had emerged from, making sure to check every alleyway on the way down. He was about to turn a corner when his eyes fell on a small shape standing in front of a street vendor.

"Ya' gonna buy somethin' o' what, girlie?" The vendor seemed annoyed at the shadow he's food had acquired, but didn't seem in a rush to shoo her away. "Ya' looking a lill' lightly dressed, ya' know it'll get real cold in a few, yeah? Ah think ya' should head on home, maybe put on some shoes." He said glancing at her feet.

The vendor continued trying to persuade the woman a few more times, but when he got no reaction he just sighed and went to help some other customers.

Sephiroth stepped up behind the woman, and observed her carefully. She seemed to be wearing a cape of sorts, her blond hair brushing past her shoulders everytime she moved her head to focus on something new the vendor was selling. Sephiroth's eyes moved to her feet, and sure enough the bottom of her bare feet was caked with dirt, mud and even some blood mixed in.

Sephiroth was sure this was the subject he was looking for. She must have found a sheet to use, the bottom of which was dripping water. She probably 'borrowed' it whilst it was hanging to dry out a window or something and used it to wrap herself in. A small puddle of water had already accumulated at her feet, she occasionally tapped one foot to splash in the puddle, seemingly subconsciously.

Sephiroth stepped up beside her, ignoring how the vendor and people around him turned rigid and gave him a wide berth. The girl didn't notice and kept her eyes on the wares of the vendor. She was eyeing the mysterious grilled meat on a stick with particular intensity. She had a bit of a dazed look in her eyes, so Sephiroth concluded that is was best he left Masamune unsummoned for now.

"What is your name?" He figured information of any kind wouldn't be a loss, so he'll start to question lightly, then work his way up.

Her eyes finally tore away from the mystery meats and landed on him.

Sephiroth's breathing stopped as his eyes met endless blue, and he couldn't stop his eyebrows from furrowing in confusion. He did manage to stop his right hand from finding its way to the back of his head where he felt a slight throbbing. Sephiroth tried to ask again but couldn't find any words to say. He observed the blonde keenly to see if she had any materia equipped. Maybe she had cast confusion on him?

The blonde finally broke out of her deep daze and her eyes widened as she gazed into Sephiroth's. She took a step towards him, then another. Her feet was unsteady as she walked, and Sephiroth, fearing she'd tumble head first into the ground, reached his arm out to steady her.

"Who are you?" Sephiroth asked again this time throwing in an seemingly ineffective glare.

"Me?" Sephiroth's eyebrow quirked. Apparently he and everyone in the slums had been wrong. Although the appearance of the person in front of him was ambiguous, his voice was everything but.

"Yes, do you have a name?" Sephiroth was aware that they'd gained quite a few spectators who think they're being subtle, some of them whispering and looking disapprovingly in his direction.

"You mean- you don't know me?" The blond asked with a small, hoarse voice and cocked his head to the side giving him a look of pure confusion. "I was so sure… so sure we…"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "So sure we what?" He felt his heart pick up it's pace. Was he nervous? No that couldn't be it. He wasn't afraid. That was literally impossible. An irregular heartbeat was never good, he'd have to have it checked out.

"...Know each other… " He gave him one last longing look, then went back to his dazen spectating of the mystery meats.

Sephiroth stood in disbelief for a few more seconds before he pulled himself together. "Do you have a home?" This could after all simply be a confused amnesiac taking an afternoon stroll in his neighborhood.

It took a few seconds before the blond spoke up again, Sephiroth was about to ask another question when he heard a weak. "Yes, I think I do." Apparently he had been thinking about it.

This was going to be a bit harder than he first assumed.

"Where?" Sephiroth suppressed a sigh.

The blond hummed "In the mountain… it's very beautiful-" He glanced at Sephiroth and gave him a small, warm smile "Would you like to visit? I'm sure my mom woul-" He stopped in the middle of his sentence, then his face scrunched up in a grimace.

"Your mom would…?"

"I… don't know." He said, and left the matter entirely, as if it was too troublesome to even think about and, then focus on the meats again.

Sephiroth sighed, took out his wallet and placed some coins on the vendors booth. He was sure he placed a few too many, but he was in no mood to argue change. He picked up a stick of grilled meat and ignored the vendor who'd started sweating through his tick jacket. The blond's eyes were glued to the meat in his hand, he suppressed a smirked and tried moving the food left and then right, the others blue eyes followed it like a cat waiting for its prey. As he handed the food over he didn't expect the blond to take a small step back, as if afraid if he had stepped out of line by standing to close. He'd seen this kind of behaviour in new recruits he'd encountered in the Shinra halls, but rather than afraid of him, the blond seem to be afraid of the mystery meat (which is very warranted in Sephiroth's opinion.)

"Take it." Sephiroth almost flinched at how harsh his voice came out, but the blond didn't even blink as he grabbed the stick from his hand. He paused, then looked up at Sephiroth expectantly.

Neither of them spoke for a full minute. Sephiroth just observing the smaller blond, and the blond keeping his eyes on Sephiroth, unwavering. Sephiroth would commend the man had he not known that there was probably some psychological issues at play.

The blond opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, then opened it again. "Can I… eat this?"

Sephiroth paused, then blinked a few times. Definitely some psychological issues at play. "Yes you can go ahead."

Without another word the blond started to chow down on the meat. He took big, sloppy bites and chewed with his mouth open, getting food all over his face in the process. Sephiroth is sure he'd seen five year olds with better eating habits than his. When he was finished he took to licking the residue off his fingers, then he handed the, now clean, wooden stick back to Sephiroth. He stared at the stick that was handed to him for a moment, then turned to the vendor who looked like he'd suffer a heart attack any minute now.

"Do you have a napkin?" If Genesis was here he'd snort in disdain at how the vendor flinches back and then dives into his stall to find what Sephiroth requested. He handed him a small once-upon-a-time-white cloth, he supposed that'd have to do for now.

Sephiroth put his hand under the blonds chin, ignoring how the other froze in place at the touch, and started wiping away at his face. Then threw the cloth back into the vendors hands and uttered a thanks.

Sephiroth slowly turned halfway around and indicated the blond to follow him. To his surprise, the blond that'd been so good at following orders up till now, stood his ground.

"Come." He had never been good at talking to people, both Genesis and Angeal could attest to that.

The blond let out a small breath. "No, I can't." He said determinedly.

"Why not?"

"I'm waiting for… someone." Sephiroth heard the weavering in his voice, and decided he'd let this little thing play out as far as he should.

"You're waiting for me. I've come to pick you up."

The blonds blue eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Sephiroth's' face, presumably looking for something. Apparently he found it because the next moment he was all smiles as he caught up with Sephiroth.

They started walking up towards the transit to the surface and had been walking for a while when the blond suddenly stopped up, one hand caressing his stomach whilst the other held the sheet tightly around his body, his knuckles turned white.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he observed the uneasy look on the others face. Suddenly the blond turned a corner and walked into a small alleyway, for one terrifying moment Sephiroth thought the blond would run, and he'd have to cut him down. Luckily (for him) the blond only crouched down and started emptying his stomach on the ground next to a few garbage bags. He suppose mystery meats will do that to you. Sephiroth walked up to him and stood beside him has he started dry heaving. He considered patting the other's back for a moment in consolation, but decided against it, when he remembered his last reaction when he was touched.

The other finally stood up, looking to be deep in another daze. There was a bit of residue on the side of his lips. Sephiroth picked up one side of the sheet around the end and wiped his face clean. The other recovered out of his trance and gave Sephiroth a smile. Sephiroth nodded back, and they started on their way again.

Once they were above the plate the blond started slowing down his stride, he had instead occupied himself with looking at the blue sky above head. Sephiroth had a stray thought of how the blond's eyes matched the sky to a fault.

They continued walking at the slower pace. Sephiroth in the front, ever so often glancing back to see if the blond is following him and not walking into oncoming traffic or something. They were approximately a block away from their destination when the smaller man suddenly spoke up.

"Was it everything you dreamt it would be?" He glanced away from the sky and gave Sephiroth a warm, dazed smile when their eyes met. And Sephiroth couldn't help a small feeling of helplessness arize in his hearth, as if he'd forgotten something of immense importance.

He didn't answer, instead he turned around, ignored both the blond and the sudden lump in his throat and quickened his pace.

When they finally did arrive Sephiroth just wanted to deliver the 'specimen' to the Doctor, go home, and forget the meeting ever happened. Unfortunately he had no such luck, he let out a small curse in his mind at the sight of Professor Hojo waiting by the entrance of his lab together with the small entourage in white lab coats and the two Soldiers waiting for them.

Hojo's eyes narrowed when they met Sephiroth's and then narrowed further when they landed on the man behind him busy gazing at the blue sky above him.

"Come now Subject C, you've had your fun. Time to go back." Sephiroth noticed and ignored how the two soldiers froze at the Professor's name calling. Apparently not expecting the infamous 'subject' of today's disaster to be a human, and much less such a harmless looking young man as well.

"...Fun?" The man cocked his head as he focused in on the sneering Professor in front of them.

"Yes, you've caused a lot of trouble. Now, come here." Sephiroth, who was accustomed to Hojo, could feel the coldness in his voice as he spoke to the blond. He resisted a shudder, and turned to look at the young man behind him. His eyes seemed to be dimmer than before, no longer a perfect match to the oh-so blue sky above them anymore.

At this point Sephiroth just wanted to wash his hands of the whole ordeal, go home and try to deal with the lump in his throat with some warm tea, maybe get a head start on next week's paperwork.

"Go." He delivered the line with the same harsh voice as he did by the vendor, but this time the blond did flinch. He took a small step back and glanched between sephiroth, and Hojo a few times before nodding with that dazed look in his eyes. He walked over to Hojo, who immediately handed him over to Dr. Maya.

"Get him hooked up again at once, and monitor him, properly this time." Professor Hojo hissed through his teeth. He paused when his eyes landed on the blond's feet, and he scoffed in disgust. "Get him in a shower first!"

Sephiroth looked at the retreating back of the blond, he looked so small, like a child that'd been reprimanded.

The lump in Sephiroth's throat grew, and his hearth once again picked up speed, almost hurting him to the point of winching from the pain.

"I don't remember asking for you on this assignment." Sephiroth was about to give the same explanation he did the others, his eyes never leaving the small retreating back. "Well, I suppose it matters not now that you got the job done." If Sephiroth knew Hojo as well as he thinks he does (and Sephiroth believes that's a hard yes) The Professor wasn't nearly close to done with scolding him as if he was a child.

So instead Sephiroth cut him off. "Who is that? What's his name?"

"_Its_ _name_ is Subject C. And who he is is none of your concern." Sephiroth almost scoffed in his face.

Instead he calmed his temper and answered, "Very well." before turning his heel and leaving for Shinra and his paperwork.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh, wow. You are looking more and more like shit everytime I see you."

Genesis said as he walked up to the other man sitting on the couch with a spread of different files and papers strewn across the coffee table in front of him. The silver haired man paused the tea cup that was on its way to his mouth and gave him one of his wry not-quiet-smiles, before continuing on.

"Are you _really _working on your break?"

"It's called being dedicated." Came a slight hoarse voice in reply behind the cup.

"No, it's called being a workaholic." Genesis took the initiative and sat down across from the other man. "So," Genesis tilted his head as he carefully regarded the General. "You wanna come out for drinks with me and Angeal?" He smiled. "We're going to that one bar you like, the quiet one."

That made Sephiroth glance up from the file he was in the middle of reading. "He's not supposed to be back for another three days." He asked, slash, stated with a small tilt of one elegant eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, apparently he finished up early."

"Mn," Was the only response he got from the silver haired general.

"Come on, Seph, You've been cooped up in your office for three weeks!" Genesis leaned forward, his bodily enthusiasm matching his words. "You won't even spar with me! Which, you know, the audacity, and all that-" He said as he waved his hand in front of his face.

"Unfortunately," Sephiroth started with a drawl. "I will be unable to join you today." He finished shortly and went back to reading the file in his hand.

"Oh, please, you could easily take a break from…" Genesis glanced down at the files, then up at Sephiroth, then down at the files again. "What's this?" He picked up the the closest paper to him and started reading it. "Are you searching for someone? Why are you looking up names of everyone that's joined Soldier the past," He picked up the whole stack of papers and quickly flipped through them. "Ten years?"

"...There was a discrepancy in one of the reports I got back, so I'm just looking through these files to get it corrected."

"Uh-uh." And if that wasn't the biggest lie Genesis had heard in his lifetime, he didn't know what was. Genesis put down the papers and leaned back into the couch.

They sat there for a while. Sephiroth reading his files and Genesis deep in thought. After a few more minutes Genesis finally got up with his signature flourish he'd claimed as his own, and headed for the door, "If you change your mind you'll know where we'll be."

"Hn." Sephiroth answered but didn't take his eyes away from the mess of paper on the table.

Genesis sighed as he made his way down the tower and out towards their bar in sector 1. He went into the building, waved at the owner and claimed their regular boot in the back. There were a few people littered in seats across the place, but coupled with the dim light no one gave him a second glance when he walked by.

He tapped his fingers on the table a few times in sync with his tapping foot under the table, then quickly stood up and headed towards the bar. He figured he might as well get a few drinks in before Angeal showed up. Unfortunately for him Angeal had always had an efficiency to him, so halfway through his first drink the other First showed up.

"Took you long enough." He said through the glass at his mouth.

Angeal just gave him a smile and slid into the opposite seat "I'm thirty minutes early."

Genesis stood up and chugged the rest of his drink. "You want anything?"

"The usual."

Genesis nodded.

"Sephiroth didn't come?" Was the first thing Angeal said when he returned with two big glasses of beers, "That's not like him."

"Yeah, well, he's not been like himself for a while now." Genesis took a small sip before continuing. "He's been working like crazy. I mean he's always been a workaholic to an extend, but I'm not sure he even stops to eat some days. Everytime I ask him out for lunch or dinner he refuses, says he has too much work to do…" Genesis furrowed his brows, the General had indeed been exceptionally strange lately.

"I see, so that's what you wanted to talk about…" Angeal said with a slight frown gracing his face. "Do you know what-"

"Wait, hold on." Genesis put his glass down and gave him a perplexed look. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

Angeal's eyebrows rose. "Then what? You said it was something of 'great importance'," Angeal quoted him with a smirk and a hint of mocking in his voice, Genesis decided to let it slide, for now. "What's going on that could possibly be more important than this?"

Genesis closed his eyes and let out a deep, long-winded sigh before he opened his them again. Angeal had concern, which became more and more palpable by the second, written all over his face.

"What? What's going on? Genesis, you're worrying me." Genesis could see that Angeal was _this _close to pulling out his PHS and giving Sephiroth the obligatory once-a-month Moma Chocobo call, so he waited a few more seconds to let the concern really seep in.

"So… I saw Loveless: A New Horizon," He slowly started with a sigh. "You know? The new play I told you about- And I gotta say it has made me look at everything in the book from a new perspective. I mean other than the fact that the actor playing the Hero managed to butcher some of his lines, and also some irregularities from the book, the play was so spectacular. I'd even go as far as say it left me breathless by the end. It is without a doubt one of my top ten favorite adaptations of the sto -"

"What's wrong with you?! Dear Gaia! You almost gave my a heart attack!" Angeal clutched at his uniform right above his heart, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth agape.

"Impossible" Genesis retorted, taking another sip of his drink.

"_This_ is what you wanted to talk about?" Angeal continued his not at all warranted scolding. "You had me prematurely end my mission!"

"Yeah, well, Sephiroth's been hauled in his office twenty four seven!" Genesis yelled back. "I saw the play almost three weeks ago, and I haven't had anyone to talk to about it! Do you realize how frustrating that is?"

"I'm starting to realize, yeah." Angeal put his head in his hands and leaned against the table.

"You're such a drama queen." Genesis snorted.

Angeal pulled his head out of his hands so fast Genesis' surprised he didn't get a whiplash. The other man opened his mouth, an argument no doubt at the tip of his tongue, but apparently decided against it. Good. "You know what? Never mind." The raven haired sighed, picked up his drink and gulped down a few mouthfuls. "You sure this isn't something we should be worried about?" He huffed.

"Uh, yeah… I mean the play was good, but not _that _groundbreaking."

"I'm talking about Sephiroth, Genesis." Angeal said with a droll and endless patience.

Genesis just sighed. He suppose he'd have to save the Loveless discussion for another time, thanks to Sephiroth's sudden and unexplainable mid-life crisis. "Yeah, except the fact that he's somehow turned even more emotionless, I doubt it's something to be worried about, probably just a phase." He gave the other man a light smirk. "You know how kids can be."

"He's not a child, he's perfectly capable of controlling his emotions."

"Repress, you mean."

"Nevertheless, I'm worried about him." Angeal hummed.

"Ugh, fine," He put down his glass with a speedy sweep of his hand."Let's go talk to him." He stood up, then paused for a second. "Hold on."

Genesis went up to the bar once more with Angeal following close behind. He then proceeded to order two shots, the ones especially produced for Soldier biology. He ignored the incredulous look he got from Angeal, and promptly downed both of them when they were placed in front of him.

"Is that really necessary?"

"Absolutely." He said in between shots.

Angeal let out a sigh bordering on a scoff and continued out of the shop with Genesis not far behind.

They made their way towards the tower and up the elevator. Genesis carefully keeping up with the taller man's long, hurried stride.

"Will you slow down?" He whined. "He's not going anywhere, you're not short on time."

Angeal just ignored him and slightly quickened his pace, probably in retaliation for what Genesis did at the bar. He almost rolled his eyes at the other man's childishness, but decided it was perfect material for teasing so he resisted pestering him about it for now.

They reached Sephiroth's office, and Angeal placed two rapid knocks on the door before pushing it open without waiting for a reply, as is like him. Which should get him as much shit as Genesis get's for his no knocking when irritated, angry or excited policy. But apparently two knocks one second before you enter anyway is a completely okay thing to do.

Angeal froze on his way in the door, and Genesis who was accustomed to his fast pace and hurried stride, bumped into his shoulder with his face.

He was about to sarcastically rebuke Angeal's walking skill, while not so subtly rubbing at his, now red, nose, when he too froze at the sight of the General brandishing Masamune and full on tactical gear as if he was about to be shipped out to the Wutai wastes.

"You being sent out on a mission?" Angeal asked what Genesis thought.

Sephiroth turned around and gave them that look where he's so obviously suppressing a sigh.

"...Yes. I just got a mission sent down from the director. I'm shipping out immediately."

Genesis was about to reply with a snide comment of how workaholics die early or something, when the thought was abruptly cut off.

"Is that... blood on your coat?"

Sephiroth, the ever so composed man he was, merely glanced down at his coat, located the stain and answered. "Yes."

"Gaia below, Sephiroth- What's going on with you lately?" Angeal questioned.

Sephiroth lightly tilted his head to the side quizzically, his long hair following the movement and falling past his shoulder.

"Oh, don't give us that look. You know very well what he's talking about." Genesis stated as he stepped past Angeal, you couldn't be menacing while in the shadow of a man half a head taller than you. Not that Sephiroth would ever be menaced by him. To be totally honest was mostly Genesis' ego that couldn't stand him not being in the forefront of every argument. Not that he'd ever willingly admit to it.

"You haven't been out of your office for days, and when I tried talking to you about it you keep spacing out." Angeal looked at him, brows knitted at the new information. "So? Out with it! What's bothering you so much you can't even confide in your friends?"

Sephiroth quietly glancet between the two, his face showing not the slightest hint of emotion.

"I mean, seriously, If I didn't know you any better I'd be worried about your state of mind." Genesis resisted a pout, (...he might be a bit tipsy) Instead he put his hands on his hips.

Sephiroth let out a small huf of air in defeat and relaxed his stance. "I've been having these… visions lately."

"Ok, I'm officially worried about your state of mind-"

Angeal quickly stepped up next to Genesis and put up his hands as if to placate them. "What he means to say, Sephiroth," He gave Genesis a strict glare. "Is that you can talk to us anytime you need, you know that right?"

"Genesis." Sephiroth turned his penetrating gaze at him, and Genesis staggered slightly, (ok, maybe he was drunk after all) "Do you remember the impromptu mission the Professor asked you to do?"

"The one at the time of the Loveless play?" He raised an auburn eyebrow. "Yeah, what about it?"

"The... specimen I was told to track down." He paused, as if remembering something. "I believe that I know him…"

"Oh…" And for the first time ever Genesis didn't know how to reply. "Did- did you kill it?"

"Him." Sephiroth quickly corrected. "It's a person." He said sternly.

"Right..."

"Hold on. What exactly is it that's going on?" Angeal, bless him, broke the awkward silence caused by the exchange.

Sephiroth sighed for a second time since they entered the office (undoubtedly a new record) and unsummoned Masamune before he (somehow) gracefully flopped down on the side couch. He leaned his elbows on his knees and brought his hands together as he looked up at Angeal and started explaining.

"About three weeks ago I stepped in for Genesis on a mission given to him by Hojo. A track and retrieve of an escaped specimen- When I got there the people stationed there where, for lack of a better term, secretive. As if they didn't want me, specifically, on the mission. I had to insist to get them to agree, and even then they were reluctant." Sephiroth's eyebrows furrowed. "Then I found the- _subject_-" He spit out bitterly. "-I had this… foreboding feeling, like I knew him." Sephiroth was never good at, well, feeling stuff, let alone describe what he felt, so both Genesis and Angeal raised their eyebrows in surprise at those words.

"He was confused, and didn't seem to remember much of anything… but I think he remembered me." Another pause. "When I got back I started getting these," He waved his hand by his head. "Memories, I think they are. Fragments of memories of when I was young. I-" Sephiroth cut himself off, then cleared his throat. "I've been looking for people that matches his description, people that's gone mission or KIA, going as far as 30 years back- but…" He fell silent. So that's what he'd been researching earlier today.

"So? _Did _you kill him…?" Genesis asked, a slight frown grasing his face.

Sephiroth dropped his head, and clenched his hands together til they turned white. "...I handed him over to Hojo and left." He answered weakly.

There was a lull in the conversation and the atmosphere in the room seemed to thicken. Genesis swallowed as quietly as he could. He'd never seen Sephiroth like this before, so- defenseless. Normally he would relish at the thought, the great General Sephiroth, Hero of Wutai, looking so vulnerable. But today the only feeling accompanied that revelation was oddly enough dread.

Angeal walked over to the General and sat down next to him, putting a warm and comforting hand on his shoulder. "Did you know him well...?"

Sephiroth looked up, the same emotionless mask on his face as before. Genesis felt a lump forming in his stomach. He really didn't like this version of Sephiroth.

The silver haired man stood up. "I don't know. I don't remember." He shook his head. "I think he was looking after me. He was… kind." He said as his eyes turned a bit foggy.

"And?" Genesis huffed loudly after a few seconds of silence. If no one wanted to break the tension he'd gladly do it. He was too drunk to let it continue be this depressing. "What are you going to do about it?" He sat down next to Angeal and crossed his legs in an (he hoped) elegant fashion, (but looking at the amused smile the man next to him was giving him, he appears to have failed miserably.) "I hope your plan isn't to sit around and mope for another three weeks!" Only after he finished talking did he realize he had shouted the last part. Angeal placed his head in his hand. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

At least it seemed to have made Sephiroth fall back to a semblance of normalcy as he replied back monotonously rather than the half dead drone he'd been donning. "I already did something about it." And Genesis could almost _taste _the eye roll he was suppressing. "I went down to Hojo's lab in sector four and tried to find him." A dark look passed his face. "They transferred him two weeks ago…"

"Oh, Seph, I'm so sorry… Maybe we can find some records about his transfer?" Angeal turned to him. "There's bound to be some documents telling us where he went, right?"

"Why're you asking me?" He asked, confused. He was probably the last person to ask questions like that to. Angeal closed his eyes, likely trying to find a last shred of patience for him. "Beside a paper trail is too unreliable, Hojo could and would undoubtedly fake that. In my opinion we get the information straight from the horse's mouth." He grinned at the prospect of threatening Hojo's creepy underlings.

"You can't just go around threatening people, Genesis…" Angeal sighed and ignored his quiet 'why not?'. "We need someone that has access to information like this, someone we can trust… Which is gonna be hard because the only ones who do have access to this kind of information is high level Turk officials-"

"Actually-" Sephiroth cut him off with a slight hesitant look. "I already have the information."

Well that's a pleasant surprise. "Really? How did you get it?" Angeal asked softly, as if someone could overhear their conversation if he was to loud.

"I threatened people." He casually stated.

Angeal's jaw fell agape and Genesis was doing a bad job of concealing the laughter coming out his mouth. The raven haired just sighed and got up.

"So this 'mission you're going to-?"

"I'm going to get him." Sephiroth confirmed

Genesis followed suit and stood up as well. "Well, I suppose I could tag along. I'm not set up for a mission for a while, so I have the time-" He paused. "At least I think I'm not… Either way, I'm always in the mood for some treason."

"Gaia below." Angeal turned to him. "Please refrain from saying that as if you're proud of the fact."

"You're both coming?" Sephiroth raised two eyebrows that'd been chiseled to perfection. Ugh, what an asshole.

Angeal let out a deep breath and followed up with a small smile. "I suppose I could go for some treason this evening."

"That's more like it, big guy." Genesis clapped him on the back a few times then avoided the glare thrown at him. "So, where's the guy now?"

Sephiroth eyed them.

"Nibelheim."


	4. Chapter 4

"Please tell me you at least know where he the lab is." Genesis scrunched up his face in an ugly grimace, no doubt donning a massive headache after showing up drunk at his office the previous evening. Sephiroth had no sympathy for the other man. He had suffered the consequences of drinking multiple times, and yet chose to indulge himself.

"I don't know." Sephiroth replied, his gaze never leaving the scenery passing them by in a haze.

"You really didn't think to ask where it was when you were threatening information out of a bunch of interns?"

"They weren't interns." These weren't some innocent children who didn't know what they were doing. "And no, I figured I couldn't miss it once I had a look around." Before Genesis managed to scoff Angeal sounded out from the front.

"Nebelheim is a small village, I'm sure we'll have no trouble finding a Shinra lab if we ask around." He pitched in from the driverseat of the jeep.

They'd taken the first car they'd seen in the garage of the Shinra tower. Unable to requisition a driver, and they were certainly not going to drag the Turks into this just for a helicopter ride. So they settled on driving to Nibelheim.

They had somehow managed to avoid the official roads where Shinra had people stationed to toll anyone driving in and out of the city, no doubt keeping a record in the process. They took the ferry across the ocean. And easily drove past Costa Del Sol, though not without having to stop for gas. Luckily no one seemed to recognise them (or cared enough to make a grand debacle of it.) Unlike the citizens on the upper plate of Midgar it appears people around here has something other than celebrity gossip to focus their energy on.

"Ugh, and who's idea was it to not stop for water and food?" Genesis placed his hand in front of his eyes and asked in a muffled voice.

"We unanimously voted against a pit stop."

"Maybe next time don't vote on that while I'm asleep?" Sephiroth could hear irritation coating the redhead's voice, but couldn't see his face through his hands that were simultaneously covering him from the light and massaging his temples.

Angeal let out a huffed laugh. "We're gonna be there soon- Just hold on for 15 more minutes."

"Ugh." Was his only reply. Sephiroth suspected it was the only he could manage without considerably worsening his hangover.

The only benefit from a drunk Genesis is the fact that his argumentative side is cut down about 50%. Though Sephiroth isn't sure how much of a win it is, seeing as how he had to spend the whole process in a cramped car with him.

The car finally quieted down enough for him to try to remember more of the blond who'd looked after him as a child and their brief meeting years later. Since he… left the man in Hojo's care, he'd gotten flashes of some of the memories. Sometimes he remembers a warm smile and kind eyes. But mostly he remembers feeling safe in the other man's presence, like, as long as he was by his side nothing bad could happen to him.

Of course Sephiroth realizes this probably was nothing more than a child's ungrounded admiration. But he still couldn't help himself from remembering the blond's small back as Sephiroth had deliberately let him slip through his fingers. The thought made his throat tighten and he had to clench his teeth to not let the emotion of absolute despair show on his face.

He first thought had been mixing memories, new with old ones. Maybe because the specimen hojo was looking for was human he couldn't treat it like the throwaway fact he first figured it was.

But then he'd remember a kind voice speaking to him, or a big hand on his back, thoroughly warming him up after being cold for so long, and he'd forget all about his speculations.

He focused his eyes back on the scenery, and tried desperately not to think about it. Once he had the other man back by his side he'd make sure to tighten his hold on him so he couldn't slip away a second time.

"So, hey, I know this sounds crazy, but I really do hope you have a plan." The sarcasm in the redhead's voice was hard to miss.

Sephiroth chose to ignore him. He could barely deal with the other man when he was sober. Throw in irritable, sarcastic and bratty, and you'd have a full set of things to keep away from Sephiroth at all times.

"I'm with Genesis on this-" Sephiroth lightly turned his head to the man beside him, waiting for him to continue. "Have you at all though about what you're going to do once you find him?"

Sephiroth had. But to be fair Genesis and Angeal's worry was warranted because his plan mostly consist of one; get the blond back and two; cut down anyone trying to stop him.

Angeal must have read him like an open book because he put one hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Whatever you decide on, we're with you."

Sephiroth gave him a smile in gratitude.

The car pulled into a small dirt road, which they definitely would have missed had there not been a sign on the side that read 'NIBELHEIM' in big white letters.

"Ok, first thing, I suggest we find the inn in this village and rent a room. We don't know how long we'll be here, it's getting late and I _don't _want to end up sleeping in the car tonight." Angeal said as he got out of the car and headed towards the cluster of houses.

"I concur." Genesis replied with a grunt.

Sephiroth nodded.

They knocked on a few doors as they made their way down, most of them took a quick glance out the window, then decided to pretend not to be home. Sephiroth could feel Genesis' agitation reach its peak when the third house decided they weren't home. Sephiroth thought about placating the other man, but ultimately decided against it. He was also in a rush and if he'd have to threaten information out of people (again) he'd do it.

When they finally found someone that were willing to talk to them, it was not what they were expecting, or rather, not what Sephiroth expected.

He froze in place as he laid his eyes on the familiar blue color.

A woman, with meek wrinkles lining her face and a few gray streaks running through her otherwise blond hair, stood before them at about two heads shorter than Sephiroth. She had eyes with a slight sheen to them and heavy bags hanging under. She looked tired, the kind of tired that didn't go away with 8 hours of sleep. He deduced she'd have to be about 50 or so years old.

She stood frozen in the doorway. Her eyes moving from Angeal to Genesis then finally landing on Sephiroth. Her meek face contorted into one filled with rage.

"You people are Shinra?"

Sephiroth promptly cut off the barrage of demands of answers that was at the tip of his tongue. He swallowed once then turned to answer.

Only to be cut off by Angeal this time. "Yes, sorry to bother you ma'am, but we were wondering if you happened to know where the inn in this village is located?" His voice was nothing but polite as always.

But the woman continued to glare at them. "What are you doing here?" She hissed in a low voice. As if their being here was a dirty secret.

Sephiroth could see Genesis raise his brows in surprise. Angeal on the other hand didn't miss a beat. "We're here on a routine reactor check on behalf of Shinra."

"Well, I suggest you be quick about it. Shinra has caused enough trouble in this village." She sneered and want to slam the door in their face.

Genesis was about to step forward, his stance the same as when he tells people off. Sephiroth took hold of the other man's upper arm to stop him in his tracks. He let the door close and lead the redhead in front of him as he walked further into the village.

"Seph?" Angeal asked while keeping up.

"They look alike." He had to huff out with a breath because normal words wouldn't leave his mouth for some reason.

Genesis gave him a confused look as he walked in front of them.

"She looks like- I suppose it'd be him that looks like her…" Sephiroth continued once he got his breath back

"The man we're looking for?"

Sephiroth quietly nodded and turned to his thoughts. No wonder she seemed furious once she found out who they were. Losing a family member couldn't have been easy for her. But no matter how hostile she acted they'd have to question her again, there was no doubt that she'd be the one to know the most on Shinra in this village.

They eventually found the inn, through luck said Angeal, Genesis answered that it was merely through a process of elimination. Sephiroth agreed. They then proceeded to rent three rooms, one for each because Genesis 'would rather run himself trough with Masamune than listen to Angeal's snoring ever again'. Angeal looked sheepish then swiftly agreed.

Sephiroth had been alone for all of 3 minutes before Genesis speedily barged into his room an apologetic Angeal following behind.

"Genesis-"

"Yes, yes, the knocking. I remember." He said as he picked up the chair in the corner of the room and briskly sat down. "But under current circumstances I feel my barging is warranted."

Sephiroth suppressed a sigh.

Angeal followed suit and sat down at the edge of the bed. "So that woman must be a relative…"

Sephiroth leaned against the closest wall and nodded. "Yes, she'd have to be with such a close resemblance."

"...Maybe this at least solves the problem of where he can stay-?"

"That can impossibly be safe." Genesis scoffed. And Sephiroth found himself agreeing with him a second time in one day. What's his world come to.

"If the man disappears from the Nibelheim lab this village will probably be the first place they'll search." He continued.

There was a silence sweeping the room before Angeal spoke again. "Have you at least thought about what's gonna happen once we find him?"

Sephiroth's original plan was to bring him with him to Midgar, maybe rent a room in a discreet hotel in the slums until further notice. Though he figured it couldn't be healthy to leave him to his own devices considering he'd found the blond man having a staring contest with a piece of grilled street meat the last time he'd seen him.

So basically that left him with only one choice. The only people Sephiroth currently trusted was Angeal and Genesis, and since they're basically in the same boat as Sephiroth they can't help in the matter more than they currently are. So he can't ask anybody else to look out for the blond, it will have to be him. He would have to somehow sneak the man into his apartment without anyone noticing. It wouldn't be easy, but it's doable.

The problem was whether or not the infamously-always-informed Turks are surveying his apartment. He'd never actually cared about the fact, Sephiroth had always been loyal to Shinra to a fault. He believed he had no valuable information to 'accidentally' convey. But at the end of the day the Turks are an organisation of spies, so some information was always better than none. And Sephiroth was currently bordering on the very fine line of treason… He supposed he'd at least be able to protect the blond better if worse came to worse.

"He's coming with me to Midgar." He finally stated firmly.

Genesis put his face in the crook of his arm and leaned back into the chair. Sephiroth deduced it meant he disagreed with his decision. Angeal only glanced to the floor as if deep in thought, no doubt trying to find a better solution for his problem. Helpfulness really was in nature.

"What about his family?" Genesis questioned from behind his elbow. "I'm sure she'd love to seem her whatever again." He sat up straight and glanced between Angeal and him.

"When I last met him he looked so confused and he could barely walk straight. I'm pretty sure he'd been standing still in the same spot for at least an hour before I found him." He slowly started. "He couldn't even remember his own name or where he lived."

"Still, you can't just go around kidnapping people like that." Genesis raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not," Sephiroth sighed. "Kidnapping him…" Sephiroth clenched his hand. "I just want him to be safe as he recuperates. Maybe, after he's well again, his memory will get better. Maybe he'll start remembering m- his life." Sephiroth cursed himself in his mind at his slipup.

"Ok, so it's decided, the- guy'll come with us to Midgar." He gave Sephiroth an assured smiled.

"Right, then I suggest we get to a more prominent matter at hand."

"Hojo's lab." Angeal stated with a serious look.

"No. Loveless: A New Horizon, I really feel-"

"Genesis!" Angeal scolded at the other man.

"Joke! It's a joke, calm down." Genesis quickly said. "Just wanted to lighten the mood, jeez." He put his hands in front of him in surrender.

Sephiroth's frankly astounded that he'd managed to avoid discussing the theater play with the other man for so long. He had quietly been counting his days. And he's certainly very grateful for Angeal's hard earned skill of managing to shove away the subject everytime Genesis feel it necessary to fill the void of silence with headless blathering.

"We should question the woman we met." Sephiroth swiftly moved the discussion forward.

"You really think she's willing to give us information?"

"I'm willing to try." He replied grimly.

"Though I agree with you, It's already quite late. We should probably wait until tomorrow to ask for answers."

Genesis hopped up from his chair with grace earned through years of practice. "Great, I'm off to get me some much earned sleep. See you in a few." Angeal gave Sephiroth a small smile before soundlessly closing the door behind him.

Sephiroth let out a small breath as he prepared for bed. Taking off his coat and belts to hang on the back of the chair Genesis had recently vacated. He was about to lay down in bed when he heard a slight movement beyond his window. He promptly got up, summoned Masamune and lept out the window all in a swift motion. He quickly located the person, that'd no doubt just arrived to spy on him, and brought the business end of his sword to their throat.

The person fell to the ground with a loud yelp. A very high pitched one… Sephiroth unsummoned Masamune and took a good look down at the perpetrator.

"Woah, that was so cool! Was that magic?" The high shrill voice, belonging to a young girl around the age of 10 years old, asked.

The young girl had short black hair reaching just above her shoulders, her brown eyes twinkling with wonder, not at all seeming to care that the sharpest object known to mankind was inches away from piercing her throat. The girl was shook out of her awe when she realized Sephiroth wouldn't answer her question anytime soon. She got up to her feet and brushed her clothes until a small dust cloud appeared.

"Say, you're that famous guy that works as a Soldier, right?" She questioned him as if she actually expected him to answer.

"What're you doing here anyway, dad said you're here to finally tear down the haunted house. Is that true?" She tilted her head and continued to stare fearlessly into his eyes. "Usually I like exploring creepy places like that, but that house is way too scary. So it's about time you took it down if you ask me." She took a pause to breath and continued to speak at a speed even Angeal's puppy probably would admire.

"My friend Lila said her brother once walked inside on a dare and he keeps swearing he saw a ghost. But Lila says he lies all the time so I don't know what to believe." The girl looked genuinely confused as if the conundrum made her head hurt. "Then again most of the adults say that he only saw a monster that had taken residence in the house through the winter." She drawled as if she's repeating something off a script."Well everyone except for Mrs. Strife, she insists the whole darn place is cursed and will kill anyone who enters it. People say she's crazy, but dad said that she lost her son in that house so I shouldn't say bad things about her."

Sephiroth was about to walk away from the girl. Jump into the window and firmly close it so to not hear the girl's almost incoherent rambling. But stopped the second he heard the latest sentence frivolously falling out of her mouth.

"Anyways if you need a guide in the house I can show you around-" She paused and slightly shrunk back when she noticed Sephiroth's cold eyes locking onto her's.

"Strife. The woman with blond hair?" He slowly questioned. Going for as menacing as possible so the girl wouldn't get side tracked like she's apparently very prone to. But It didn't seemed to have worked.

"There are a lot of blond women in Nibelheim!" Unfortunately she quickly recovered from her fear of Sephiroth and started listing off different names of 'blond women' in the village, names just continually falling out of her mouth like a waterfall. "Oh, and there's also Agnes, but she's seven so I don't think she counts as a woman yet-"

"The woman in the house near the forest." He said with a slight hiss as he stepped closer to the child.

"O-oh, _that _woman." She stuttered. "Yes, that's Mrs. Strife…" She looked around as if just now realizing she'd been goating a dangerous person without any witnesses around.

Sephiroth decided to let up on the intensity, in case the girl decided to run away, he couldn't very well set to chase after her like some madman. He took a step back and continued. "She had a son." He stated, indicating for the child to continue.

The girl apparently didn't get his subtle hint like the Soldiers under his command had learned to do. She just stood there and stared up at him with big eyes. Sephiroth suppressed a sigh and pushed down his frustration.

"Would you mind sharing what you know of the boy?"

"The boy? You mean Mrs. Strife's son? I only know that he died a long time ago and that Mrs. Strife turned crazy- I mean, got really sad after he was gone." She quickly corrected herself with furrowed brows.

He nodded and turned to leave. He had all the information he needed. There was a slight connection to… Strife and the mansion at the edge of the village so that'd be the first place they need to search. There was no need to stay the night if they found what they wanted in the mansion, and if they didn't, they already had a backup plan concerning Mrs. Strife.

He leaped into the window without looking back at the girl, closed it then locked it just to be safe. Taking his coat and belts in hand and put them on as he made his way to his fellow

First's rooms to wake them up.

The process of waking them both up, getting them out of bed and out in the village was shorter than he'd expected, which he would be grateful for had it not been for Genesis' constant whining.

"What do you mean you got some new information to look into? Did you go out to threaten people again? You know that's gonna get you in trouble sooner or later." Genesis squinted his eyes as he brushed his hair away from his face with his fingers.

"Sephiroth are you sure about this? Who was the informant." Angeal asked as he straightened his clothes and sword.

Sephiroth ignored them both as he continued leading the way out of the village. They shared a perplexed look before shrugging and quietly following him into the estate.

Weirdly enough the doors weren't locked as he'd expected them to be, but there definitely was the familiar sound of buzzing electricity coming from inside the house. There was therefore not the slightest doubt in his mind that this was the place they had been looking for. At the other side of the room there were three giant windows next to each other, letting the moonlight seep into the rundown mansion and over the moss-filled walls. The floorboards were old and visibly rotten, they'd have to watch where they step lest they end up with a foot through the boards. There were two doors on either side of them and a long half-spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

Sephiroth turned to the other men and pointed out with two fingers, the Firsts that have fought with him in countless mission, and also through a war, immediately nodded before they spread out to search seperate rooms.

Sephiroth went to the room on the far left and was met with grand piano standing right by the door. He walked over and gently ran his fingers over the keys. Brushing his hands when his gloved fingers came away dust filled. He frowned, no matter how he looked at it this manor looked like a normal abandoned home, strewn with mold and cracks on every surface. But still he heard the faint buzzing sound of electricity, there should no doubt be some live cables running through this manor. He thoroughly searched the room then went to the next one over to search through that as well, but found nothing of importance.

His frown deepened, and he was about to find Genesis or Angeal to ask of their finds, when he heard Angeal exclaim from the second floor.

"Uh, guys? Pretty sure I found something."

Sephiroth went up the stairs two steps at a time and met up with the two other men. They turned around to face him and stepped aside. A construction of brick came into view in the corner of the room, he'd call it a fireplace but there was no… well, place for a fire. He cautiously walked over it, took off a glove and ran his hand over the bricks. He could feel a slight draft sweeping past his gloveless fingers, and hear a soft buzzing growing stronger. A secret passage?

"There might be a hidden mechanism in the bricks." Genesis stepped up beside him. "Maybe a certain order one has to press them?" He pondered out loud.

Sephiroth on the other hand didn't pay attention to the other man at all. He summoned Masamune with a flourish and swiftly slashed at the brick contraption, reducing it to rubble in a few cuts.

"...Or you could do that." The other man humphed.

Behind the secret door was a long, unsteady spiral starecase that lead them underground. They walked into the cave following the sound of humming electricity coming from the end. There was a light on seeping through the bottom of the door.

"A library?"

Angeal walked up to the rows and rows of books and files, picked up something random and started reading, but Sephiroth opted to ignore them and continue into the big room. Past the second door was a long hallway lined with florecent light and pipes running along the walls. The place, for a moment, made Sephiroth feel a slight sense of melancholy, though he's not sure why.

Angeal noticed Sephiroth and Genesis disappearing into the back, so he quickly put down the book he was browsing on the desk in the middle of the room, and hurried after them.

The long hallways they walked through was lined with doors of different sizes, some grand but locked (not that that was any problem for Masamune), other small, ordinary doors were open, but both were empty of what they are after. The rooms filled with medical equipment and metal slabs made Sephiroth almost shudder at the sight.

The corridor split into separate paths, and Sephiroth debated the merits of splitting up, but ultimately decided against it. Since the lab doesn't seem to be occupied by anyone except for them and, hopefully, the person he is looking for, they aren't short on time.

They arrived in a room with rows of Mako tanks stacked next to each other. All tree of the First recognized them for what they are the second they laid their eyes on them. After all it would do one good to know what kind of treatment was necessary to undergo to become a Soldier since they did command most of, if not, the whole division between the tree of them (and seeing as they underwent the treatment themselves, albeit not conscious).

They walked past the tanks containing green Mako, Sephiroth had a hard time looking away from the monstrosity that sometimes occupied the containers. Angeal and Genesis seemed to be under the same predicament. Every tank they passed they gave a sidelong look which then made their face turn in disgust. Hojo really was a damn maniac.

They had walked into the second row when Sephiroth froze in his step and his heart with him.

He slowly turned his face, his breath coming to a halt as his green eyes were met with sky blue ones. He stepped up to the container, his hand subconsciously brushing the smooth glass.

Strife was awake and looking at him with an impassive expression, as if he was unaware of his surroundings. His eyes had the slightest shift back and forth, as if dreaming, but never focusing on Sephiroth or anything conclusive. The Mako made them look dim, they were a far cry from when Sephiroth met him in the slums. His long hair flowed freely around his head, making it look like a halo gracing him. The man's body was stiff, other than the occasional few Mako bubbles making his limbs move by proxy, there was no other movement. There were scars of different sizes and degrees littered around his body, some of them looking more recent than others. Needle punctures, slits and cuts; they were all clearly made with surgical precision.

Sephiroth could feel his hatred for Hojo seep deep into his bones, and, at this moment, he wanted nothing more than rip the greasy, insane man limb from limb

"This is who we're looking for?" Angeal softly asked. As if afraid of breaking the trance the blond man had put on Sephiroth.

"Hold on, you said he took care of you when you were a kid? How old is this guy?" Genesis questioned.

"He doesn't look older than 25…" Angeal helpfully replied.

They then both turned to look at Sephiroth- who had not moved his eyes an inch away from the man, then looked back at the form in the Mako tank.

"Gaia below, his body…"

The outraged voice of his raven haired friend was what finally snapped him out of his daze. He barely managed to avert his eyes from the dimly lit blue ones, to look around for some kind of control panel to drain the Mako. His companions interpreted his actions, and split up to search the room.

He was about to follow their lead when he was stopped by a light tapping sound. He turned to the man in the tank, and found dimmed, but still endless-blue, eyes focusing solely on him. Sephiroth could feel his heart in his throat. He swallowed lightly, and put his hand over the other man's. The blond seemed to be exerting as much force as he could to tap the glass of the tank with his knuckles. Sephiroth's gloved hand tightened into a fist over the surface of the container.

"I'll get you out of here in a moment." He felt he needed to assure the other man, no matter if he could hear him through the Mako or not, that he wouldn't abandon him again.

It was a split second, when Sephiroth blinked it was gone, but he's sure he saw a small, warm smile on Strife's face.

He suspects he would have fallen into another trance had it not been for Genesis' voice pulling him out of it.

"I found it! B12, right?" He didn't wait for confirmation from the other two men, and quickly pressed a couple of buttons on the panel in the middle of the room. Sephiroth stepped away from the blond man. Waiting for the Mako to disappear.

The tank was emptied, the Mako carrying the blond to stand on his unstable feet. Then the contraption opened up. The man took one step, then two steps out of the container with his head hanging and his hair dripping green. Sephiroth lightly turned his head in disdain at the strong smell of the green liquid. The three frozen in place were unable to get to him in time before he slumped down to his knees, head bowed and hands supported between his legs. He looked almost to be praying.

Angeal quickly took off his jacket and placed it on the small blond's still-wet shoulders, he remained unresponsive. The raven haired man slowly crouched down next to the blond, hands hovering over his back and shoulder, but not touching, as looked up at the Genesis and Sephiroth.

Sephiroth's sight had been zeroed in on the slumped form on the floor, recalling a certain uneasy smile accompanied with a shaky voice telling him everything was going to be 'ok'. The blond was smiling but his face looked one second away from breaking into tears. Sephirot felt himself slowly gulp and clench then unclench his hands a few times

"Seph?" Genesis touched his shoulder in concern this was probably not the best time to have a recollection of forgotten memories.

He shook himself out of his thought. "Strife?" He asked with a slight hoarse voice, taking a step closer to the men on the floor. "Dr. Strife?" He asked a bit louder. Sephiroth only caught the slip of his tongue after the fact, his eyes widening slightly in confusion/remembrance. But it seemed to get a rouse out of the blond, seeing as his fingers twitched, so he continued. "Dr. Strife. Can you hear me?" He crouched down in front of the blond and moved a few Mako-soaked strands of hair away from his face. His eyes were open but unfocused. "Dr. Strife…?"

"...oud…" The slumped man suddenly croaked out in a raspy voice, his eyes still hazy.

"What did he say?" Genesis sounded up from behind him.

Sephiroth's brows furrowed as he shook his head, not having caught that either. He observed the blond for a few more seconds, before standing up.

The electricity running through this underground lab was apparently for powering the Mako tanks, the lights and nothing more. The room was cold, even Sephiroth had to admit. The blond was not only soaked in liquid Mako but also only wearing the jacket Angeal had provided. He was probably freezing, but unable to tell them. Sephiroth cursed himself for not thinking about it and brought a spare change. The man had clearly not been granted any clothes the last time he had met him, so why would this time be any different. He turned around and began searching through the drawers and shelves for something the blond could wear. After searching for a while he finally found 'patient' garbs crammed into a metal alcove drawer on the far end of the room. Sephiroth didn't know if the clothes already had been used, but they'd have to make do.

He grabbed one more robe out of the drawer and went on to dry the crumbled mans body with it then throwing it to the side.

Angeal assisted him in supporting and maneuvering the blond's limp limbs as he put on the robe. Sephiroth would feel weary of the fact that the Strife didn't even seem to notice anyone was touching him, but felt only relief, knowing that exposure to such a high concentration of Mako when you're not a Soldier would undoubtedly cause pain and discomfort.

"Ok, so we've got your guy. Now we leave right?" Genesis paced, looking anywhere but the blond man on the floor.

Sephiroth nodded and turned to Angeal. "Get the car around and wait for us outside the gate. We can't risk anyone seeing us." Angeal nodded then stepped up to leave. Sephiroth quickly took his place in supporting the blond so he didn't fall over.

He picked Strife up. Feeling his light weight in his arms, he could feel his hatred for Hojo rekindle a hundred times over. He watched his hands so not to clenche and hurt the blond in his grip as he followed through the door Angeal had exited, Genesis not far behind him.

"...Is he ok?" Sephiroth could feel the hesitancy the the other man's voice.

"I don't know." He answered truthfully.

They made the rest of the trip in silence. Sephiroth could feel the tension seeping out of the redhead, but currently had his hands full so couldn't placate the other First. They walked out of the house and towards the gate, his eyes never leaving the blond's face. Still not the slightest sound after the one murmur down in the lab. The sun had long ago set and the moon was hung high in the sky above Nibelheim. Sephiroth's brows lightly knitted as he hurried his stride towards the jeep parked on the other side of the gate. Angeal had left the car running, good. He couldn't wait to get out of here and away from the mansion. He considered lighting the manor on fire for a few seconds, but quickly reconsidered once his eyes landed on the blond in his arms again.

Sephiroth put the blond in the back seat, secured him with the belt and sat down next to him.

Genesis entered the passenger seat and turned to Angeal. "You need me to drive?"

Angeal gave him a taxed smile then shook his head. "I'm good." He said as he set off toward Midgar.


End file.
